Imago Dei, Human Happiness, and the Common Good
Classified in Religion
Written on in 
English with a size of 3.92 KB
Human Happiness: Five Foundational Ways
Humans find their happiness in five ways:
Fulfilling the Imago Dei — Latin for 'Image of God'; human beings participate in God’s unique personal and subjective nature.
Humans are body and soul: the innermost spiritual part of a person, the subject of human consciousness and freedom. Together with the body, they form one human nature.
Humans have free will: the ability to self-determine, to become your own person through reflection and choice.
Humans have a rational intellect: a mind capable of abstraction and reflection.
Love: the ability to give your existence entirely to another person.
Three Kinds of Human Relationships
Three kinds of human relationships:
Reciprocal relationship (one-on-one)
Communal relationships (a group to an individual)
Legal relationships (individual to a group)
Justice That Governs Relationships
1) Reciprocal relationship is guided by Commutative Justice — Latin 'reciprocal'; the type of justice that governs exchanges between individuals.
2) Communal relationships are guided by Distributive Justice: the type of justice that governs what the greater community owes individuals based upon their contributions and needs.
3) Legal relationships are guided by Legal Justice: the type of justice that governs what individuals owe their community and society.
Common Good: Three Essential Elements
The Common Good has three essential elements:
Respect for Human Life and Dignity.
Commitment to Social Well-Being.
Establishing a Peaceful and Just Society.
Key Terms and Doctrines
Communio personarum — Latin for 'communion of persons'; the complete self-giving shown perfectly in the life of the Trinity: the meaning of life and the climax of the Imago Dei.
Original Sin — the separation of our first parents by which they lost their relationship with God, others, self, and creation.
Concupiscence — the human inclination to sin caused by Original Sin; also called 'the rebellion of the flesh against the Spirit.'
Church — Greek 'ekklesia'; the assembly of those redeemed by God through the Son, Jesus Christ.
Paschal Mystery — Christ’s work of redemption accomplished by his Passion, Death, Resurrection, and glorious Ascension. It is commemorated in the Sacraments.
Justice — the cardinal virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give God and neighbor their due.
Social justice — the full application of the virtue of justice through the defense of human rights by ensuring that social structures and institutions provide for essential human needs.
Common Good — the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or individuals, to reach their fulfillment fully and easily.
Charity — the theological virtue by which people love God above all things for his own sake and love their neighbors for and by the love of God.
Social Sin — the effect that every personal sin has on others; the collectivity of such sins which creates structures of sin.
Sacrament — as regards the Church, the sign of communion with God and of unity among all creatures.
Magisterium — the official teaching authority of the Church bestowed by Christ on Peter and the Apostles and their successors.